Suburban Redevelopment Fund
The Suburban Redevelopment Fund are the primary antagonists of L.A. Noire, and the men behind many of the crimes investigated by Cole Phelps and Jack Kelso. Background Established on June 22 1945, the Suburban Redevelopment Fund was officially and originally a legitimate private organization of investors and businessmen with the intent to fund and develop new homes for returning GIs in Los Angeles. However, the SRF was corrupt and secretly became a criminal syndicate with a plan to embezzle millions of dollars from the government. The SRF was spearheaded by property estate tycoon, Leland Monroe, who was able to bribe and convince several other important and high ranking figures of the city to invest in the SRF and take part in the conspiracy, such as Mayor Fletcher Bowron, Chief of Police William Worrell, District Attorney Donald Sandler, Los Angeles Times Editor Raymond Gordon, Vice President of California Fire and Life Curtis Benson and high profile celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Harlan Fontaine. The SRF, through Monroe and Elysian Fields Development, built fraudulent houses along the path of the new freeway in order to artificially inflate the land's value at the lowest possible cost, since the houses were made from cheap, inferior materials to cut costs and time. As a result, the houses were dangerously unsafe as they were built on poorly-mixed cement, lumber reclaimed from movie set facades, faulty wiring, and out-of-date water heater models. Benson's role was to establish the insurance agreement with Elysian Fields development, to prove the worth of the houses combined with the land value while covering up the intended fraud, and protected Elysian Fields from liability. Mayor Bowron and Police Chief Worrell used their authority to cover up and support Monroe's illegal activities. Eventually the Federal government would purchase the land under eminent domain for the planned Interstate Highway System and would repay Monroe and the other investors. They would receive more money due to the "improved" value of the land and as compensation for their investment. Events of L.A. Noire Greed eventually became the Fund's undoing. In a rush for the deadline for the government's buy-out, Monroe was desperate to finish purchasing the land and conclude the housing development. Fontaine's solution was to use Ira Hogeboom to burn down the houses owned by holdouts who'd refused to sell to the SRF, thus forcing them to sell. Despite careful planning, the Sawyer and Morelli families died in the fires. The Steffens family was out of town when their house burned down. In addition, the property Rancho Escondido, which was a few weeks from completion, was heavily burnt to the ground. This, along with Lou Buchwalter's accidental death at one of the housing developments, led the SRF to fall under investigation by LAPD Detectives Cole Phelps, Herschel Biggs, and later District Attorney's investigator Jack Kelso. Kelso's investigation eventually foiled and exposed Monroe's plans, while Fontaine was killed by Hogeboom. Worrell attempted to silence Kelso to conceal his corruption, however thanks to Leonard Petersen's intervention, he was able to secure both Kelso's safety and silence in exchange for the position of District Attorney. Monroe and Benson were presumably imprisoned while the other members of SRF walked away free men from the scandal. The truth of their corruption was quietly buried and the Suburban Redevelopment Fund was permanently disbanded. Case Appearances Patrol *"Upon Reflection" (Introduction cutscene) Homicide *"The Red Lipstick Murder" (Mentioned in newspaper cutscene) Vice *"The Set Up" (Mentioned in newspaper cutscene) Arson *"The Gas Man" *"A Walk in Elysian Fields" *"House of Sticks" *"A Polite Invitation" *"A Different Kind of War" Members and Associates Members * Leland Monroe - Real Estate Magnate * Fletcher Bowron - Mayor of Los Angeles * Donald Sandler - District Attorney of Los Angeles * William Worrell - Los Angeles Chief of Police * Curtis Benson - Vice President of California Fire and Life * Raymond Gordon - Editor of Los Angeles Times * Harlan Fontaine - Psychiatrist Associates * Roy Earle - Chief Detective of Vice * Archie Colmyer - Lieutenant of Vice * Courtney Sheldon - Medical student of Fontaine * Ira Hogeboom - Sheldon's fellow war veteran and mentally unstable flamethrower operator Other * Reginald Varley - InstaHeat water heater installer Gallery LelandMonroeHappy.jpg|Leland Monroe, real estate magnate, and the head of the Suburban Redevelopment Fund. La-noire-net-30032011-1-.jpg|Mayor of Los Angeles, Fletcher Bowron. DA.png|Donald Sandler, the district attorney for Los Angeles. Chief.png|William Worrell, Los Angeles Chief of Police. Curtis Benson.jpg|Curtis Benson, Vice President of California Fire and Life. Raygordon.png|Raymond Gordon, the editor of the Los Angeles Times. Harlanfontaine.png|Harlan Fontaine, psychiatrist. Roy Earle.png|Roy Earle, a corrupt Vice detective. LANoire courtney sheldon.jpg|Courtney Sheldon, former Marine and medical student. IraHogeboom.png|Ira Hogeboom, a mentally unstable former Marine, who was duped into buring down houses for the SRF. Reginald_Varley.jpg|Reginald Varley, an InstaHeat installer Archibald_Colmyer.jpg|Archibald "Archie" Colmyer, a Vice Squad captain Category:Antagonists